


Lost In Time

by 6114261



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1930s, 1940s, Dark Harry Potter, Dorea Black raised Harry, F/M, Gen, Gryffindor Harry Potter, Harry Potter Has a Family, Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), Heir of Slytherin, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets, Horcruxes, M/M, Manipulative Tom Riddle, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Parseltongue, Slytherin, Teenage Harry Potter, Teenage Tom Riddle, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Time Travel, or darkish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27728100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6114261/pseuds/6114261
Summary: Raised by his grandparents in the 30’s, Harry grows up in a wizarding family with strong ties to both the dark and the light. Attending his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is torn between the two sides of his family; the notoriously light Potters and the noble and most ancient house of Black. All while finding himself with a strange connection to a rising Dark Lord that he can't quite explain, and as strange things start to happen at Hogwarts.
Relationships: Charlus Potter/Dorea Black Potter, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Comments: 30
Kudos: 195





	1. Prologue & Chapter One

### Prologue

Dorea sent one last glare at her sleeping husband before she heaved herself out of the bed. Charlus Potter was a handsome man, wealthy, and pureblooded, but he was oh so dull, more than ten years her senior, and, apparently, deaf. 

She would never understand why her parents had done this to her, she hadn’t even finished Hogwarts before they forced the wedding on her. Not that Charlus had ever touched her. After almost two years of marriage, he hadn’t touched her once. It was beginning to become insulting. Both her brother Pollux and her cousin had fathered children by the age of 15, all to assure the continuation of the most ancient and noble house of Black. But judging from her husband’s actions that were hardly a concern for the Potter family. 

Looking out the window she tried to identify where the crying came from, if she had to she would grab her wand and go over to wherever the child was and… she shook her head. The closer she listened the more certain she became that the crying came from inside the house, so with more than a little annoyance she put on her slippers and followed the sound. 

It led her to the old nursery, and for a second she wondered if they had acquired a child ghost. If that was the case she would force Charlus to have it vanquished. Ghosts, especially child ghosts, were nothing but trouble. But as she pushed the door open it was not a ghost that greeted her, it was the familiar seductive tingle of dark magic, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Even in the house of Black. 

For a second the feel of the magic overwhelmed her and she forgot all about the crying. However, soon her eyes landed on the crib and the child within, sitting in the very centre of the residual magic, his eyes red, his cheeks soaked with tears, and his forehead red with blood. 

Dorea walked over, her wand at the ready, not sure what to do. But that changed quickly when she got a better look. There was something about the child’s emerald green eyes watching her that made her reach down and lift him up. 

The child was beautiful, which was an odd thought since Dorea had never particularly liked children and while she wanted to produce an heir, raising him those first few years was a task she had always intended to leave for the house-elves. But there was no doubt in her mind that this child was special, and he needed her. The question was why someone had gone through the trouble of sending the child to them, and who in their right mind would decide to send such a precious dark child into the hands of the Potters of all people. 

The second the child was in her arms he quieted down, instead of staring at her in silent curiosity. She didn’t know how long she had walked around rocking him in her arm before she waved her wand and removed the dark residue in the room, even a non-sensitive, like Charlus, would have been able to feel it before that, though she seemed unable to remove it from the child itself.  
The small lightning bolt-shaped wound on his forehead all but oozed of dark magic. But there was nothing she could do about it. At least he was asleep now. Placing the child back in the crib she promised him she would be back and went to fetch her husband. If nothing else he was an Auror and knew the identification charm every wizard child had placed on them at birth, he would know who the child was. And then they would fight for him no matter what. After all, he was hers now. She would make sure of it. 

### Chapter One

It was long past curfew and while most of the Gryffindor students had long since retired to their dorms and crawled under their sheets for the night Harry Potter sat in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace, warming himself by the fire that seemed to have been dying for the last few hours. In his hands was thick leather-bound volume his mother had sent him, and one he very much suspected would be confiscated if anyone saw it. 

While he had no doubt that the book had been acceptable reading in Slytherin during her time at the school the war with Grindelwald was making people antsy, and a book on legilimency, even if it only was depicting the theory behind it, would not be welcome now. Especially not in Gryffindor tower.

“Harry.” Timothy Wells, a fellow fifth-year, spoke up from the chair next to Harry’s. Harry had almost forgotten he was there. “It’s getting late, I think we should head up to the dorm. Classes start in a few hours.”

“I just need to finish this chapter.” Harry responded. “You head up, if you want, I will make sure to wake you in time tomorrow.”

“I’ll wait. What are you reading anyway? It doesn’t look like any of our school books.” He asked, giving the book a once over.

“Magical theory.” Harry said easily, for the first time looking up from his book. “You could read ahead sometimes too you know.”

“Sometimes I think you should have been in Ravenclaw.” Tim said rolling his eyes, which made Harry smile. He doubted anyone would ever guess that Tim was perhaps the most talented potion maker Harry had ever encountered, his talent exceeding even their professor’s. “What are you brushing up on this time? Charms? Riddle did get the charm right before you did today. Got to keep that top spot if you want to make head boy and get your own room.”

“I have to give him a win sometimes.” Harry said with a joking smile. “Besides, I easily outdid him in defence yesterday.” He added, moving the conversation away from his book with practised ease.

“True, you have to teach me how to do that spell, I just can’t seem to get it right.” He said, though the end of the sentence was more or less inaudible due to the large yawn that followed.

“Sure, now, go to bed.” Harry said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Fine, don’t forget to wake me this time.” Tim warned.

“It happened once! In second year!”

“I missed an entire lesson before you even noticed.”

“And I took the blame, Dumbledore didn’t even give you a detention. But fine, I promise not to forget. If you don’t believe me, cast your own alarm spell.” Harry said, rolling his eyes in a friendly gesture that made Tim smile. 

“Fine, I trust you. Night, Harry. Don’t stay up too late.”

When Tim was gone Harry was unable to stop a yawn of his own, but after giving his eyes a quick rub he continued reading. And before he knew it he the sky outside was beginning to lighten. He had been reading too late again, he would be able to catch two or three hours of sleep at the most, but it would be worth it. Now he only wished he had someone he could test his new knowledge on. He couldn’t think of anyone. No matter how much he read or practised on his own, he very much doubted his first few attempts would go unnoticed by his lab rat. One of the houseelves or even his mother would have worked if he was at home, but he didn’t want to wait until the Yule holidays. With a little luck he might be able to convince one of his cousins to practise with him, no doubt their father had given them the same tutorage at home as his mother gave him… the only downside then would be that he would have to allow them to try on him too… not that he thought either would make it past his occlumency shield. Not even his mother could get through anymore, and she had been the one who taught him. Maybe it would be worth it, he would think on it for a few days.

Going down for breakfast the next morning Harry was barely able to walk straight. Something that had earned him more than a few rude comments from Tim when he had to steer him right, or when Harry walked into him. In the end Tim sighed half-through breakfast and ran up to the hospital wing to get a potion that would help Harry stay awake. Coffee would probably have done the trick in Harry’s opinion, but Hogwarts didn’t serve it and tea simply wouldn’t be strong enough this time. 

Tim really was a godsend sometimes, for there was no way the Hogwarts healer would have given Harry the potion. He had been to ask for it one too many times the year before, but there had always seemed to be something about Tim that made it almost impossible for people to say no to him. People just wanted to please him for some reason. Tim had once told Harry that the fact that Harry didn’t seem to share that need was the main reason he attached himself to Harry that first day on the Hogwarts Express, and hadn’t really left it since. 

Harry suspected there might be some kind of creature blood in the Well’s line responsible, but had never voiced the suspicion out loud. He doubted Tim would appreciate that notion. 

While there were plenty of purebloods that had married creatures back in the early 18th century in hopes to gain some of their abilities, it was a taboo subject now. It was only brought up during marriage negotiations, if even then. Harry’s mother had told him the Blacks were very careful not to intermingle with such families when choosing brides for their sons, hence the heavy inbreeding in later years. What Harry didn’t know was if they were equally careful when choosing matches for their daughters. Not that Harry particularly cared, but it would be nice to know if he should worry about suddenly showing signs of a creature heritage.

By the time Harry’s first lesson of the day started the potion had already kicked in and he went to sit with his cousin in transfiguration, partly because Tim didn’t take the class anymore, and partly because he had decided to poke and see if his suspicion regarding their homeschooling was correct. 

Despite the suddenly warm welcome he had received by his mother’s family after she had confided in the head of the family that she had seen Harry taking to a snake in the garden when he was five, he was still a Potter and the heir of a famously light magic family. Neither Harry nor his mother had ever done much to dissuade such ideas, even if he was fairly certain his mother had made sure he knew at least as much about the dark arts as the Black heir himself had.

“Cousin.” He greeted as Harry sat down next to him, seeming curious about the seating arrangement.

“Cousin.” Harry said back, sounding amused by the caution in the Black’s tone. One would think Harry was the devious Slytherin and not the reckless Gryffindor. “I haven’t gotten a chance to talk with you much this year. How are you?”

“You don’t talk to me unless you want something.” He said, not believing the friendly exterior for a second. “Not in school. Not good for your little Gryffindor image.”

“I am the perfect Gryffindor, and as such, I feel the need to congratulate you on your engagement. And thank you for taking your new fiancé out of the running to be my bride.” Harry countered, though his assessment of Harry’s reasoning was actually spot on. 

“I heard aunt Dorea and her husband refuse to sign any contracts for you.” Orion pointed out.

“True, but you know how grandfather is. And no offence but I would rather kill myself than marry that woman.”

“She is quite pretty.” Orion offered as if trying to convince himself that he wasn’t in a doomed marriage. “Smart too, she is head-girl this year.”

“I doubt anyone could have missed that.” Harry said.

“Perhaps. Now that you have done the necessary small talk, what do you want?”

“Mother sent me a book I have been studying. I want to practice the content.” Harry gave in. He hadn’t planned to spell it out quite so clearly, but apparently, his cousin was in a mood. Not that Harry would have been any different if he was being forced to marry their other cousin, well his cousin and Orion’s second cousin, if one wanted to be specific.

“You know the hiding places in this castle better than anyone in this school, otherwise your reputation wouldn’t be quite as pristine as it is. What do you want from me?”

“I need someone to practice on.” He said.

“Just wipe their memories after, isn’t that what you usually do?” He said mockingly. Harry had never done such a thing, he was not adapt enough with memory charms to dare to do such a thing in the school. No, he had asked Wilburga to do it for him, and it had cost him both more than he had ever expected. As soon as she had done it she had written home to tell on him. His mother had been furious that he would take such a risk while at school. His cousins on the other hand had only found it amusing, as had his uncle. In fact, he had told Orion there was a lot he could learn from Harry. It had not been appreciated by either of the boys. 

“Be serious.”

“That’s grandfather. I am Orion.” He said, seeming to find himself particularly amusing. Harry just rolled his eyes. “Fine, what kind of magic is it you want to practice that you can’t use Wells for, he would lick your feet if you told him to.” Harry ignored the jibe.

“I need to practice on you. I will even give you a chance to do the same to me first.” He offered, he couldn’t spell out what it was he wanted to do in a classroom, but this way Orion would at least know it wasn’t one of the unforgivables.

“What do I get out of it? Except what you just said.”

“If you are proficient at the art you may find out things about me that no one else knows.”

“Wouldn’t it be the same for you?” He said, his eyes suspicious.

“Only if you think my mother has taught me better than the family taught you.” Orion rolled his eyes at the challenge but accepted non-the-less.

“Tomorrow after potion, it’s your last class as well, right?” Harry nodded. “Find somewhere secluded and safe.”

“Not a problem.”

“And give me that book after dinner tonight, I want to know what it is about this time.” 

TBC...


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter TWO

With only an hour left before dinner the next evening, Harry left his cousin behind in the old forgotten classroom on the third floor after their practice. His attempt at legilimency had been pitiable at best, he had been unable to dive into Orion’s mind. Despite the obviously weak occlumency shields his cousin had erected in his mind Harry had found himself incapable of diving through it or find a way around them. The closest he had gotten was to rattle the wall, an action that had sent Orion screaming in pain but hadn’t given him access to a single memory. The only comfort Harry could take from their little practice was that at least Harry’s own shields had been stronger than his cousin’s. 

Unlike Orion, who had imagined his shield as a metal wall, not unlike the vault doors at Gringotts, Harry’s shield was a thick mist in which Orion had gotten lost for a good 15 minutes, stumbling around blindly, before Harry got bored and pushed him out, physically sending him flying backwards in the process. And that was only the outer layer of his shield. 

But despite this the only thing Harry could conclude from this experiment was that he needed more books. And not just on theory. But it would have to wait until Yule, a book like that would be too risky to bring into the castle. After all, every painting, ghost, armour, statue, and house-elf were possible spies, mostly for the headmaster and professors, but he had no doubt some may be spying for others. After all, he knew a painting of one of his own ancestors regularly spied for the Blacks. Or so his mother told him.

Entering the Gryffindor common room Harry was not surprised to find Tim all but jumping up to greet him. This, if only for a moment, made Harry remember Orion’s description of his friend, before he quickly pushed the thought away. 

“You are late.” Tim informed him, though he didn’t sound either surprised or upset by the fact.

“I told you, I had to talk with Orion.” Harry said. “It took longer than expected.”

“Fine. But you still have to help me with my defence essay.”

“What exactly do you need help with?”

“Everything.” Tim grinned, making Harry sigh. He really should have let the hat put him in Slytherin.

“Really? You want me to explain what a werewolf is to you?”

“Not this week’s homework. I still haven’t handed in last week’s. I was given an extension.” Harry didn’t know anyone else who would be able to talk his way into getting that, except maybe Riddle. But the Slytherin had been lagging behind slightly this year… compared to his usual standards at least, and Harry had to admit he was curious as to why that was. Riddle had always taken great pride in his studies and he wanted to know what he was up to that trumped that. 

“And what is it you don’t know about Dementors? Being wizard raised I assumed you would know what they do, and how,”

“But I don’t understand why they work with the ministry. Or why the ministry is working with them.” Tim protested.

“That is not part of the essay. All you have to do is explain what they can do, and how you can defend yourself from them. And you find all that in the textbook. It wasn’t a particularly hard assignment.”

“If I am going to be a politician I need to understand the other aspects as well.” Tim informed him, reminding Harry of his friend’s long-term goal. It really was a profession that would suit him well, especially with his… talent. “And given your mother’s family background I thought…”

“Ok, I will tell you after dinner, but you will have to find sources to back it up yourself if you add it to your essay.”

“No problem. If you tell me where to find them.” He grinned, and not for the first time Harry wondered if Tim really was worth all the work it took to maintain their relationship. He knew what his mother would say, and his father, and while the reasons couldn’t have been more different the answer would have been the same. Yes, his talents were useful, and Yes, he really was a good friend. Both were things Harry valued.

“Let’s go downstairs, I’m starving.” Harry said, giving Tim an amused smile that was at least a little genuine as he reminded himself that why he liked Tim despite his occasional laziness.

When they walked into the Great Hall Harry was surprised to find Riddle already seated at the Slytherin table. It had been days since he had last seen him at a meal. Usually, it wouldn’t have been something he would have noticed, he and Riddle didn’t exactly talk often, but he, like the rest of the school, had always been a little drawn to him. It was also more than a little curious that an orphaned muggle-born had been able to make his proud pureblooded cousin his lapdog.

Riddle caught him looking and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Harry returned the gesture without a second thought, not really knowing why but it made Riddle smirk and gestured to the empty spot next to him. It was usually his cousin’s spot. Surly his cousin wasn’t stupid enough to tell Riddle where he had gone and why earlier. No, a Black’s loyalty was always to family first, unless of course, you were trying to kill off a rival heir… but he was hardly that. 

“Why did you stop?” Tim asked, interrupting his musing.

“Just looking for my cousin.” Harry said, finally looking away from Riddle. 

“Well, do it from the table. You are not the only one starving. Let’s go.”

Harry threw one last glance at Riddle, who by now had turned his attention elsewhere before he allowed Tim to drag him towards their table.

Sitting down he easily allowed himself to slip into his Griffindor Potter skin, enthusiastically discussing the team’s new keeper’s performance in the last Quidditch game. Sometimes he wondered if everyone with parents on different sides of the magic spectrum felt the same. More often than not he felt like two different people, it was only very rarely he felt like himself. There was no one who knew all of him. One of his earliest memories was his mother telling him to keep his ability to speak with serpents secret from his father, and while his father never asked him to keep things secret, he knew better than to tell his mother of some of the things his father said and did, if only to keep the peace at home.

His parents did not love each other, that much was clear, but they did hold some affection for each other and he had no doubt that they both loved him. But with one pushing him towards politics and the pursuit of power, and the other telling him to enjoy life and not to worry. To say he grew up with mixed messages and the occasional identity crisis was to put it mildly. 

Halfway through dinner Harry noted Orion speaking into the great hall, making his way towards Riddle. To most people it would be nothing strange, but if Harry noted his weariness he had no doubt that Riddle did too. Harry hadn’t pushed him that hard and Occlumency was hardly taxing, it made Harry wonder what else Orion had done before rejoining his housemates. 

Returning to the tower Harry penned a letter to his mum. She would want an update in his endeavours and would make sure to have the right material ready when he returned home for Yule in a couple of weeks. 

Last year he had celebrated at the Potter estate with his grandparents, and if he was honest he was quite relieved it would be with the Blacks this year. Yule celebrations with the Potters always seemed to focus only on him, being the only child. This year it would be at Grimmauld Place with all the cousins. Though the thought did remind him that he would have to arrange yule gifts during their next Hogmead visit, and owl order some gifts from Diagon and Knockturn. Usually, he kept away from the latter, but he was planning to push Tim a bit by providing him with some more grey potion ingredients from the Knocktun Apothecary this year. Nothing too borderline, but he was beginning to notice how the more common potions and ingredients no longer challenged his friend. And a talent like his should be nurtured, not restricted by foolish stereotypical notions of dark and light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been forever since I last wrote any HP fics, hence I'm all ears for your thoughts and plot suggestions :)


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter THREE

As the sun rose outside the classroom window Harry looked at the folded notes on the desks, each with a student’s name written on it. All while the professor watched the arriving students with A twinkle in his eyes. 

“Mr Potter, I believe you are in the front to the right.” Dumbledore informed him and Harry could not help but think that this was not boding well for him, or anyone for that matter, as he made his way to the front of the classroom. 

Glancing at the names next to him he found two Slytherin names, Greengrass and Riddle. Looking at the notes behind him he found the same pattern there, seating a Gryffindor and Slytherin next to each other. If this was an attempt to improve the house relations, it was doomed to fail. And putting him and Riddle together made little sense as they were the only ones who were known to socialise with people from the opposite house. But seeing little use in analysing it further he instead waved Riddle over when he saw the other teen looking for his name on the folded parchment notes.

Sitting down he greeted Harry by his given name and he had to admit it took him aback a second or two. He had personally never thought of Riddle as anything other than Riddle. Without knowing the exact situation he was fairly sure he could blame his use of “Harry” on his cousin.

“Tom.” He said instead. The name didn’t feel right, it was too simple for Riddle.

“What do you expect this to be about then?” Riddle asked, gesturing to the notes in front of them.

“Inter House unity?” Harry suggested, voicing his earlier thought.

“Perhaps.” Riddle agreed, throwing his eyes around the room he added. “People are also matched by ability, more or less.” 

Harry had not considered that, but he might be right. Harry paid admittedly very little attention to others’ abilities unless they were friends or foes. Riddle the only exception.

“I’m sure you are all curious about our new seating arrangement” Dumbledore started when all the students had arrived and were seated, throwing suspicious looks at their partners. 

“Slytherins, the person sitting to your right will be your partner for our next assignment.” Harry and Riddle didn’t even glance at each other, instead of keeping their eyes on the professor, who stopped to gleefully take in the reactions of his students as the news settled in. 

“At the end of the term, I want each pair to present a transfiguration project to the class. You will be graded on the difficulty, skill required for the project, and your collaboration. I want your initial project plans by the end of the week, after which I will set up meetings with each pair to discuss the plan and how to move forward. Please note that you will need my approval on the project before commencing. Major human transfiguration, such as Animagus transformation, projects will not be approved.” he smiled. “On that note, I will leave you with this advice. I often find the best inspiration in a good book.”

Harry and Riddle looked at each other thoughtfully for a few seconds before Riddle spoke. “Library?”

As they walked side by side down the corridors Harry distantly noted that it did not feel as awkward as it perhaps should. While he and Riddle would acknowledge each other and, he assumed, both kept an eye on the others academic successes, they had never spoken much outside of the prefect meetings. Yet it was an almost companionable silence as they made their way to the library, unlike the bickering pairings that made the journey with them.

By the end of the hour, Harry and Riddle had narrowed their area down to either large mammal vanquishment or non-sentient conjuring. After which they both agreed to do some research and they would meet up after potion to iron out the details the following day, before preparing their project plan and draft for Dumbledore.

Making his way to care about magical creatures Harry was not surprised when Tim fell into step with him, a wide grin on his face. Seemed like he had heard the news.

“So…?” He began. “On a scale of 1-5, how angry are you?”

“Angry?” Harry echoed surprised. 

“You hate to work with other people. It took almost 6 months before you began trusting me not to screw things up in potions.”

“You are better than me at potions.” Harry protested.

“True, doesn’t mean you don’t watch me like a hawk when we work together. Even now.”

“I learn by watching you. You have a rare talent.” Harry countered.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Tim told him, though he couldn’t stop the hint of a smug smile from taking shape at the compliment. Harry sighed.

“I’m working with Riddle. The only better option would have been Minnie. I think Dumbledore paired us based on our last exam and house.”

“Do you even know what others got? Apart from Riddle?” Tim asked, amused. Harry might be smart and well liked, but he lacked awareness when it came to certain things. Tim was surprised he even knew how he was doing in in their classes. Not that Harry was ignorant of others, but he could at times be a little single minded.

“Riddle commented on it. We were in the top last time, Minnie and Blaise after, and so on.

“He had the list memorised?” Tim asked, not really surprised. Tom Riddle had a knack for knowing everything about everyone as far as Tim was concerned. While he was always nice and polite, Tim had also noted that the only ones he took special care with were people with power, connections and/or talents. He was as much a collector as his head of house. Harry only shrugged. 

“Sounded like it.”

“Well, I’m glad I dropped transfiguration. Can’t imagine working with the Slytherins.”

“They are not that bad” Harry said.

“That’s because you are almost an honorary member because of who your family is. Me, they won't stop sneering at. Because of my mum.”

“There are a lot of half-bloods in Slytherin. But, I get what you are getting at. Mum used to be the same, you changed her mind though. Which in itself is a miracle.”

“Your mum loves me!” Tim protested, and Harry laughed.

“Now? Yeah. All you had to do was show off those dimples and she was putty in your hands. That she had someone who likes potions as much as she was just an added bonus.”

Upon reaching the Care of Magical creature classroom Harry got distracted from the conversation by the bickering inside. They were loud and, in all honesty, it sounded like a group of first years sniping at each other. It took Harry a few seconds before recognising he was the only one hearing it. Serpents then. Quite a few from the sound of it. He hated when that happened. It was like ignoring children, especially if they figured out he could understand the. Then they wouldn’t leave him alone. Really the ‘gift’ of Parseltongue was more of a curse, especially considering the stigma attached to it by the light. As much as he loved his mother and grandfather, in this case, they really were wrong to envy his ability.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter FOUR

While Harry could not see them he could very clearly hear the serpents as he stepped into the classroom. He did, however, see an egg on the professor’s desk. Glancing over at Tim he saw the other teen’s interest in the object, making him conclude he was correct in his guess. Runespoors. Their eggs were a rare and expensive potion ingredient, one he had heard Tim moan over more than once, and judging by Tim’s expression this was one. Unless there was another serpent egg Tim wanted, and in all honesty that was quite possible.

Professor Kettleburn was perhaps the youngest professor at the school and had only taken on the post earlier that year. But Harry had to admit he was an improvement on the last professor who seemed terrified of the creatures he taught and kept to written material whenever possible. Kettleburn was the opposite and more often than not told them that the books were for homework, a class for hands-on experience. Harry would have to agree, though he wished his fascination with reptiles was slightly lower. This was the third time in so many months that he brought serpents to the classroom.

“Morning Class, can anyone tell me what this is?” Kettleburn asked, gesturing proudly at the small egg. Harry was not surprised Tim’s hand remained lowered. “No one? Not even any of our aspiring potion masters?” He asked, offering a small hint. Still no one. “This is a Runespoor egg.” He finally informed them. “This one is the last one to Hopefully crack, if we are lucky it will happen during the lesson. Its siblings have been crawling out sporadically all week, however, today we will focus on the adult Runespoors in my care. While the eggs are a prized potion ingredient. So is the venom, and today you will learn how to milk it.”

Harry mentally cursed his luck, he also wondered why he had not chosen to have that particular lesson when they were working with one headed snakes. At least he was not alone in his displeasure, though knowing he was sharing it with Lucia LaRoi was hardly something to brag about. The girl had chosen the class solely for the sake of unicorns and had been greatly displeased when she was told they would only get to that particular animal at the end of 6th year and it was mostly going to be academic, and it was unlikely they would even see one. Which, if she had known anything about the creature she was obsessing over, should not have come as a great surprise. They were not particularly social creatures outside their own herds. 

Lost in thought it took him a few seconds to notice how genuinely excited Tim seemed by the prospect though.

“Do you think we get to keep the venom?”

“Not as a rule, no. It is not a pleasant way to die, so I doubt they give it to the students. But you can probably manage it. Or we can try to sneak some out.” Harry offered.

“Die?” Tim asked, shocked.

“They are poisonous. Nothing on the same level as a basilisk, of course, but still quite lethal without the antidote.”

As Kettleburn walked around and handed each pair a snake, Harry wanted to cover his ears. It was the same as last time, only three times worse with three heads doing the complaints. The least the professor could do was tell the students not to choke the creatures, it seemed less than a handful knew that it did not help to clutch the snake, cutting off the air supply and applying undue pressure. Not that Tim was doing much better. With a sigh, Harry threw a quick charm on the snake to make it freeze As it fried to escape Tim’s grip.

“How did you do that?” Tim asked.

“Freezing charm.”

“But they are resilient to magic.” Tim protested.

“They are just difficult to hit when moving freely. If all magical animal hydes were resilient, why do you think we are told to get something as expensive as dragon hide gloves?”

“Then why doesn’t everyone do what you did?”

“Excellent question.” The professor toned in from seemingly nowhere, looking at Harry he added. “Care to guess?”

“It will make it antsy when released. And we can’t milk the venom when it’s frozen.”

“Yet you still decided to charm the snake?” Kettleburn asked disapprovingly.

“Crushing it was hardly having a better effect. At least this way it’s not in pain.”

Strangely enough, this did not seem to have occurred to the professor as he looked around to take in the struggling students with an almost concerned expression.

“A sleeping charm would probably have been better.” Harry thought out loud, looking at the frozen snake.

“Not unless you can hit three of them at once” Tim muttered.

“Depends on which charm you use.” Harry said distractedly while the professor rushed off to save a particularly loud snake. However, that one was more angry rather than in pain.

“He could at least have shown us what to do first.” Tim said, looking after the professor and Harry could not help but agree. There was a little too much trial and error education going on in this class.

“You can let go of the Snake,” Harry said instead, looking at Tim’s hand clutching the snake’s body. “Put it in the box and I will lift the charm.”

After that was done Harry left it a few seconds to calm down and complain about the humans, bickering with its other heads regarding which one was worse. Seemed the one to the right really didn’t have a high opinion of Harry and his stick. As their bickering got particularly loud, Harry struck. Allowing his hand to confidently grab onto the thickest part of the snake he lifted it, using his other hand as a perch for the snake to balance itself on, allowing the snake to be in near-constant movement before it finally started to settle down. All while Tim stared.

“How did you do that? How did you know it wouldn’t strike?”

“I doubt the professor would have given us hungry snakes, and they were more afraid than hungry.” Then as an afterthought, he added. “My grandfather has a snake, I handle her quite a lot.” He didn’t add that he would usually just tell it what to do, mostly for his grandfather’s amusement. 

“Now get one of those bottles, they should be spelled to make the snake want to bite down.”

“Very good, Mr Potter,” Kettleburn said. Harry hadn’t noticed him returning. “10 points to Gryffindor. Have you done this before?”

At the end of the class, Harry headed up to the Kettleburn’s desk with the three bottles, filled to the brim with venom, while the professor gathered the snakes from the boxes on the tables. 

Harry was just about to leave when he heard a faint crack coming from the egg. Turning back to look at it Harry felt himself smiling as one of the heads peaked out, it’s jaws wide open as if yawning or laughing, and he couldn’t keep himself from laughing as another peaked out, headbutting the first. As the third head peaked through all three started head butting each other while making nonsensical noises. Without meaning to Harry found himself reaching out to stop them, telling them to be careful.

It wasn’t until he turned around and saw Tim looking at him strangely that he understood what he had done.

“Were you hissing at the snake?” he asked in disbelief. Causing one of the Ravenclaws behind him to look up, her eyes on them for a second before moving on to the hatchling. Unlike Harry, she did not seem to find them cute, she shrieked.

“What is that?! It’s all gooey.” Harry ignored her and looked at Tim before shrugging to his question.

“Figured the first thing it should hear should sound like a snake.”

“Well, you sounded like a snake, so good job,” He said, sounding doubtful, but let it drop. “Time for lunch, then potions. Kettleburn told me he will be giving some of the venom to Slugghorn for today’s class.” He added excitedly. “I have never worked with snake venom before, have you?”


End file.
